Representatives from more than 25 universities will be on campus to answer questions about their programs, provide information about their areas of study, and to introduce students to a few options they might be considering post-grad.

For our second meeting of this season’s Gutenberg Conspiracy, Sara Hubbard will lead a discussion of Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures on next Wednesday, September 27th. We will be meeting in the Walker Conference Center (Room C) at 12noon; feel free to bring a sack lunch if you are not inclined to grab something from the cafeteria. Note that you may bring a tray downstairs from the cafeteria, and the Sodexo staff will collect them after our meeting. And of course, even if you have not read the book, you are strongly urged to attend. Hope to see you all there!

Riley-Hickingbotham Library and the University Writing Program are teaming up to sponsor a reading of banned books during….you guessed it…Banned Books Week (BBW). BBW is an annual celebration of the freedom to read, and its theme this year will be “Our Right to Read.” While BBW lasts from September 24-30, this specific reading will be held on Thursday, September 28 from 11AM-1PMand again from 4-6 PM in the amphitheater outside McClellan Hall. We’ll be looking for students, faculty, and staff to volunteer to read for 10 minutes from their favorite banned book. (And we plan to expand the hours should we have more than 24 individuals willing to read). Look for posters, emails, and social media posts closer to the date, but in the meantime please add a line to your schedule and/or share with your friends. Please consider volunteering to read as well! The official sign-up will be located in the library in September, but if you want to lay claim to your favorite book sooner rather than later, contact Autumn Mortenson at MortensonA@obu.edu. Click here (www.bannedbooksweek.org) for more information about Banned Books Week. For the American Library Association’s list of the top 100 banned books from 2000-2009, click here (http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009). Don’t hesitate to contact Jennifer Pittman (pittmanj@obu.edu), Kristi Smith (smithk@obu.edu), or Autumn Mortenson (mortensona@obu.edu) with questions or comments!

The Ouachita Baptist University Department of Theatre Arts will present “The Secret Garden, the Spring Version,” an adaptation of Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s original Broadway musical, in Verser Theatre on campus Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

The show will be a shortened version of the full length 1991 musical based on the 1911 children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The show tells the story of orphan Mary Lennox and her journey to renewal after finding a locked garden.

“This show is definitely a crowd pleaser,” said Dr. Scott Holsclaw, chair of Ouachita’s Division of Applied Arts and director of the show. “‘The Secret Garden’ is a children’s book and should be familiar to a large number of adults as well as children.

“This is a repeat show that we did in the early 2000s,” Dr. Holsclaw said. “We are excited to revisit this show and possibly bring back some of the original cast and crew to help us celebrate.”

This year, Ouachita’s Department of Theatre Arts is reviving several productions in celebration of the 50thanniversary of Verser Theatre.

The lead cast includes: Rachel Webber, a junior musical theatre major from Longview, Texas, as Mary Lennox; Scotty Scott, a junior musical theatre major from Russellville, Ark., as Archibald Craven; Hannah Hill, a sophomore musical theatre major from Alexander, Ark., as Martha; and Cody Walls, a senior musical theatre major from Van Buren, Ark., as Dickon.

Performances will be held Sept. 28, 29 and 30, as well as Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 1. Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased at www.obu.edu/boxoffice or at the Jones Performing Arts Center box office weekdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, call the box office at (870) 245-5555 during business hours.